Our next stop for the day was Anaimudi which Google tells me is South India's highest peak at 8841 ft. The other attraction here is Nilgiri Tahr - a goat-like animal that is endemic to the Nilgiri Hills. The driver stopped the car in front of a government tourist office in a market and told us where to get the tickets. He said that we will have to travel the rest of the distance in forest department's minibuses as private vehicles are not allowed to ply on Anaimudi. I was happy to oblige as that meant less pollution and traffic at the site. This joy was short-lived though as I did see 1-2 rickshaws there later.
So we bought our tickets and boarded the first in the group of buses standing in front of the office. The bus filled up in no time and soon we were on our way. The drop in the temperature was immediately evident but wasn't harsh enough to warrant fishing out any warm clothes. We were taken to the top and disembarked there. The weather was a curious mix - it was sunny enough to miss wearing a cap but the air was cold. The valley at present was shrouded in mist or low-lying clouds, I couldn't decide what. I was overjoyed at the first sighting of the Tahr. But later realized that they are a pretty common site here. We could also see the plants of Neelkurinji (Strobilanthes Kunthiana) that bloom once in 12 years and are natives of the the shola forests in the Western Ghats of South India of which Anaimudi is a part. Alas, no flowers were in bloom right now for us. :-(
As we reached the top, the mist/clouds suddenly parted giving us a panoramic view of the valley below. A small waterfall came cascading down the peak. We could see groups of people climbing but no one had yet reached our level so we had the entire landscape to ourselves. We listened to the water gurgle merrily in a shallow pool as the sunlight played off its edges, marveled at the beauty of the wild flowers that sat basking in the morning glory in clumps or all by themselves, talked to the Tahrs as they frolicked about without giving us a second glance, watched the lazy clouds wind their way through the valley and sat there savoring, once again, absolute peace and tranquility.
Of course, from where we were sitting we could also see the serpentine queue waiting for the return buses and hence started climbing down reluctantly. As we waited we decided to have an ice-cream. The attendant at the shop kept the wrapper and handed the ice-cream to us. I didn't mind it one bit as I know tourists cannot be trusted not to throw garbage around.
Fortunately, the wait for the bus wasn't tiring. Within no time we were back to the market. The driver told us he knew a good place where we could have lunch and so we left immediately.
Unfortunately, I don't recollect the name of the restaurant where we had Thali meal that afternoon. I liked almost all the items in it but the quantity of rice scared the hell out of me. I don't personally know anyone who can consume so much of rice in one go :-) I moved the bowl of rice out of the thali even before I began to eat.
With a full tummy we started for the rest of the two stops in our itinerary - Mattupetty Dam & Echo point.
So we bought our tickets and boarded the first in the group of buses standing in front of the office. The bus filled up in no time and soon we were on our way. The drop in the temperature was immediately evident but wasn't harsh enough to warrant fishing out any warm clothes. We were taken to the top and disembarked there. The weather was a curious mix - it was sunny enough to miss wearing a cap but the air was cold. The valley at present was shrouded in mist or low-lying clouds, I couldn't decide what. I was overjoyed at the first sighting of the Tahr. But later realized that they are a pretty common site here. We could also see the plants of Neelkurinji (Strobilanthes Kunthiana) that bloom once in 12 years and are natives of the the shola forests in the Western Ghats of South India of which Anaimudi is a part. Alas, no flowers were in bloom right now for us. :-(
As we reached the top, the mist/clouds suddenly parted giving us a panoramic view of the valley below. A small waterfall came cascading down the peak. We could see groups of people climbing but no one had yet reached our level so we had the entire landscape to ourselves. We listened to the water gurgle merrily in a shallow pool as the sunlight played off its edges, marveled at the beauty of the wild flowers that sat basking in the morning glory in clumps or all by themselves, talked to the Tahrs as they frolicked about without giving us a second glance, watched the lazy clouds wind their way through the valley and sat there savoring, once again, absolute peace and tranquility.
Fortunately, the wait for the bus wasn't tiring. Within no time we were back to the market. The driver told us he knew a good place where we could have lunch and so we left immediately.
Unfortunately, I don't recollect the name of the restaurant where we had Thali meal that afternoon. I liked almost all the items in it but the quantity of rice scared the hell out of me. I don't personally know anyone who can consume so much of rice in one go :-) I moved the bowl of rice out of the thali even before I began to eat.
With a full tummy we started for the rest of the two stops in our itinerary - Mattupetty Dam & Echo point.
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